Cast iron frying pan questions
 

Was going to get a cast iron fry pan to replace one that I haven't seen for 25 plus years.
Was told when I was a kid that you season a cast pan by covering it in Bacon grease or lard and putting it in the oven for a couple of hours at 200* , is that true.
Also heard that you never wash them just wipe them clean???? if you wash them you have to do the bacon grease thing again, is that true?
If your just wiping it clean how does that last if you only use it every week or 10 days does it go mouldy?
What about Pam or some other product ?
Have electric stoves at home but wanted to use it on the side burner on the BBQ, at that BBQ 4-5 days a week, pretty well year round when I'm home but don't use the side burner every time
any ideas or info?

ahhh. love the topic.

seasoning. you can buy a pre-seasoned pan now. LODGE sells them this way. or if you want to go old school and do it yourself. use veg shortening. wipe on a super thin coat, and set it face down in the oven at 350. i think it is 30 mins. i highly recommend you use the outdoor bbq grill. a pan being seasoned lets out a rancid smell. like burning oven cleaner. horrid.

i dont wash mine with soap. when done, and it is still rocket hot..i wipe it with a soap free scrub brush. works great. hardcore pan folks, add more veggie oil, get it hot, dump in a handfull of salt and scrub with the salt/oil mix.

i reseason once a year anyways.

you'll need a 10" and a 12". cheap, great pans. mmmm pan fried chicken.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1272403179.jpg

Yup. Veggie oil, 350 degrees, at least a half hour.
On a new unseasoned pan you should prolly do it a couple of times.
If it's seasoned right you don't need to scrub them ever, and never put in a dishwasher.

I do wash mine with water and a mild soap but they are soooo seasoned the metal never gets wet.
I got em from my grandmother and they are prolly close to a hundred years old.

Timely topic. I just salvaged an old one from wife's restaurant. 12" that had been left to get too hot and burned a thick layer of carbonized cornbread. Firstr mistake I made was to get the bright idea of popping it into oven on self cleaning cycle. Smoked the whole house up something awful. But it did burn off much of the several years old seasonoing that were ruined. Then i took a wire rotary brush on drill and got all the old carbon off down to the bare metal. In hindsight I could have bought a new one or sent this one out to be sandblasted.

To season I placed lightly oiled upside down in oven at 300 for 2 hours. Placed a pizza pan on the rack below to catch any oil drippings. Let it cool in the oven and then repeated. Came out a bronze color which will get darker with use.

I do not use soap. Just rinse out with hot water after it cools. Wipe out with paper towel and lightly coat with oil/pam when storing. They get better with additional use, ultimately turning black. That carbonized surface essentially becomes non-stick. Don't get moldy in my experience.

Pic of very old 8" sitting inside of my old, but newly seasoned, 12" salvaged pan. I have an 18" to be re-seasoned next...use it for frying outside on a BIG propane burner. Oh yeah...a little 5" in the back...I sauteed onions in it last night and haven't gotten around to rinsing it out:D:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1272404363.jpg

I wipe the pan out w/ a brush under hot water, that usually gets everything off because a well-seasoned pan is pretty much non-stick, a bit of scrubbing if needed. Then I set on burner and heat until all moisture boils off and the pan is "cooking hot" again. Wipe with veg oil, and that's it. So, the pan gets re-seasoned each time, and I doubt anything naughty can survive the heating. I like cast iron a lot, if they just had better handles I'd use them more.

I want that.

Do a search on the 'Net, lots and lots of resources talking about cast iron. Also, there are a couple of long threads about cast iron on this board.

34 posts
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/457803-ok-does-anyone-here-love-their-cast-iron-skillets.html

84 posts in this one.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/326578-anyone-cook-cast-iron-skillet.html

I have three of different sizes. I find it's not necessary to pre season them. Just use them over and over. Never use soap, just clean them will water and a metal brush, then give them a shot of pam wipe it around and put them away.

You need a 15" pan too!

Yes, very timely topic indeed. We just rescued a rusty 8"pan from a thrift store this weekend.

I snagged 2 pans from my Mom's house as were cleaning it out, with the intention that I'd use them on the grill (can't use them on solid cooktops). Since I left them outside under cover, they have rusted. How do you remove the rust from cast iron pans?

POR15...j/k:D

I wouldn't use a chemical...either have them sand blasted or wire wheel brush on a drill.

I am not smart about these things. I have heard from a reputable source that BBQing meat makes it cancer causing (the blackened charcoal) however if you brush what ever you are BBQing with olive oil and don't blacken the meat, it is OK.

I wonder if cooking in a black cast iron pan has a similar effect (cancer causing)... thoughts? I'm not looking to be a party pooper - just wondering.

A good Griswald #12 on the Bay is gona cost ya $125 to $175...
They are superior to the new ones ya buy today..the new ones still have the cast finish whereas the old ones are smooth.

Just wash it out in the sink and place on stove to evaporate the water..same with a Carbon Steel Wok.

A Griswald #13 is gona cost ya around $1200...go figure?

There is also an Electrolysis process to clean them up as well.

unc billy. as i understand it, using cast iron will put iron into your food. good for you. you burn it in any pan, it is said to be cancer causing.

tabs, i found a griswald 12" at an antique shop in sonoma for $40. it was black and smooth as glass. i guess i blew it?

The instructions for seasoning the pan should come with the pan.

I use water on mine once in a while, then heat it up until it's almost smoking and put some oil in it, and spreading it around.

Keep it greased, and don't let your wife soak it in soap and water. I hate when she does that, it's my pan and I cook with it not her.

When I moved in with the now ex-woman my sister took up residence in my house.
She is not the swiftest boat in the water when it comes to cooking.
I went by the house one day, pulled into the carport and saw one of my great-grandmother's 15" cast iron skillets sitting, rusting, on the side of the car port. Dufus had burned something in it and her solution was to just put it outside.
As some of you may have seen on my "new 911 pics" post I am no longer with the gf/fiance/whatever she became and so have moved back to my house.
Last night I pulled open the bottom drawer of the range where all of my great-grandmother's cast iron skillets should have been. It seems i am missing one or two out of the 6 or 7 I had, and the ones that are there have been allowed to rust from improper cleaning.
My great-grand-mother had these before Iwas born, some may have been her mothers' skillets. She would be over a hundred if she were alive today.
Heck of a note, lose the love of your life And have your cast iron skillets ruined by your sister!
I have some serious cleaning/seasoning to do on the remainder of them, skillets that is... most women can't be "cleaned up" if you ask me.
i love my sister, but.....